Have a Blast…Plant a Shasta Daisy
Every summer, like the snow from an arctic cold front, the Shasta Daisy’s flowers cover my yard with a blanket of beautiful white flowers. I think that is an appropriate way to describe a flower that was named for the snowy slopes of Mount Shasta in California. Shasta Daisy’s were first hybridized by famed horticulturalist Luther Burbank at the turn of the 20th century and they have been popular flowers ever since. August is a great time to plant this perennial to ensure you have plenty of blooms in your flower beds and perennial borders next summer.
Shasta Daisy’s bear a strong resemblance to daisies you see growing along highways and in wildflower gardens, but they are actually related to chrysanthemums. Their flowers are much larger than these wildflowers and they bloom more prolifically as well. They look great in a perennial garden with plants such as black eyed susans, phlox and coneflowers but they work equally well with annual flowers such as zinnias and snapdragons. They can be used as a cut flower for bouquets, but they do have an unpleasant odor which you’ll notice if your nose gets too close to the arrangement.
Shasta Daisy’s hold a special place in my heart as this is the first perennial that I ever planted from seed. I started the seeds late in the summer, planted the seedlings later in the fall and had a bounty of beautiful flowers the following summer. This is a low maintenance plant that isn’t very demanding. It can tolerate a range of soil conditions and while it prefers full sun it will tolerate some partial shade. You can plant them about 1 to 2 feet apart and they usually will need to be divided every 3 to 4 years. Early in the spring or later in the summer are the best time to divide them. They grow about 2 to 4 feet tall although there are some more recent varieties that are much shorter than this. The taller varieties are susceptible to damage from high winds and heavy downpours and will require some staking to keep them upright, particularly when they are in full bloom.
Shasta Daisy’s grow best in garden zones 5 to 8 and generally start blooming early in the summer. Once the first set of blooms is finished if you cut the plant back, I usually cut it back by half, and give the plant a little fertilizer, it is possible the plant will bloom again for you in the fall. They are sometimes bothered by aphids and slugs but I’ve never had an infestation that negatively impacted the flowers. They have the added bonus of being attractive to butterflies, but usually not bothered by deer. So if you’re looking for a low maintenance perennial to add to your garden this fall why not try growing some Shasta Daisy’s this year.
